


Cherry Pits and Cat Tattoos

by strawberryriver



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmates, kuroo centric, side bokuaka, soulmate au - writing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 16:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8759890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberryriver/pseuds/strawberryriver
Summary: Kuroo has been in communication with his soulmate ever since they were kids. They've known each other for so long that he never really worried about when or how he would meet them. At least, not until he meets the roommate of Bokuto's soulmate.
Soulmate AU in which things written on your skin show up on your soulmate. Companion piece/same AU as Serendipty
--------------------
Kuroo Tetsurou liked to write on his arms. Despite his mother's half-serious warnings about “ink poisoning” or staining his skin, he insisted on marking his arms and legs wherever he could. Not like his best-friend-since-always Bokuto Koutaro, who had to write on his arms or he’d forget to breathe, but artfully. He’d draw designs, animals, the occasional chemical compound. The whole idea behind soulmates fascinated him: how one person could mark their arm and someone potentially thousands of miles away, would have that same mark appear. The amount of articles, studies, and books he’d read about the topic, even at a young age, could put an undergrad researcher to shame.





	

Kuroo Tetsurou liked to write on his arms. Despite his mother's half-serious warnings about “ink poisoning” or staining his skin, he insisted on marking his arms and legs wherever he could. Not like his best-friend-since-always Bokuto Koutaro, who _had_ to write on his arms or he’d forget to breathe, but artfully. He’d draw designs, animals, the occasional chemical compound. The whole idea behind soulmates fascinated him: how one person could mark their arm and someone potentially thousands of miles away, would have that same mark appear. The amount of articles, studies, and books he’d read about the topic, even at a young age, could put an undergrad researcher to shame. 

No one really knew how or what caused the connection, and Kuroo would be lying if he said that mysticism wasn’t half of the draw. Of course, the weight of a word like _soulmates_ wasn’t impressed upon him yet, he equated it to something more like _best friends_. As he grew older he thought more and more about the implications of a soulmate, and what his _soulmate might think of them_. He’d heard (read) horror stories of people finding their soulmate only to realize that they were already married and had no intention of leaving their partner, or soulmates who rejected the idea wholly, leaving the other person out in the cold. 

Some nights those thoughts bothered him more than he knew they should. 

Kuroo made what he liked to call “first contact” when he was ten. Early for most kids, and young enough that he didn’t fully understand what a soulmate was or meant. It was the beginning of winter, too cold to play outside for long, and Kuroo was already bored and restless from being cooped up. Bokuto was gone, visiting family, which left Kuroo alone to channel his energy. In a last-ditch effort to keep himself from bursting Kuroo installed a puzzle based video game his aunt had bought him for his birthday. It was challenging enough that it took all his focus and dedication to solving each riddle the game through at him, and soon enough Kuroo was enthralled wholly. As the puzzles grew increasingly difficult Kuroo resorted to writing down clues and phrases on his arm in an attempt to keep his thoughts sorted. 

He was in the middle of a particularly difficult riddle when he looked down to check his arm and found writing that wasn’t his. Confused, Kuroo held the arm closer to his face, as if that would somehow reveal how someone else’s writing now occupied his inner wrist. The words were too neat to be Bokuto’s, and too small to be his mother’s. They had to belong to his soulmate.

_cherry pit_

The words didn’t make sense, either. Did his soulmate really like cherries? Was it some kind of weird shopping list? He had gone on errands to the corner store for his mom before, maybe they did that too? Did they know he could see their list? Kuroo quickly uncapped his pen, feeling the excitement and adrenaline heat his veins as he scrawled back. 

_huh?_

Kuroo held his breath as he watched the empty patch of skin below his response slowly fill in with ink. 

_the answer to the riddle is “cherry pit”._

Kuroo looked from his wrist to the blinking answer field on his screen. He quickly typed “cherry pit” into the box and grinned when the game chimed “Correct!” and allowed him to move on. He looked back down at his wrist, grin growing as he reread the simple exchange. His soulmate liked video games too, the same video games as him, and was definitely smart. Probably even smarter than him. He was overcome with the desire to learn everything he could about them, though he managed to rein himself in before he completely overwhelmed his own arm with questions. . 

_Thanks!!! it worked!! ur really smart_

_you were never going to get it._

Kuroo laughed when he read the response, it was rude but something about the delivery just felt funny. They were right, he was never going to guess cherry pit and the quip only made him like his soulmate more. He moved on with the game, occasionally seeking, and sometimes receiving, help from his new soulmate. Only later, when he was laying in bed after his bath, did he realize that this meant that now his soulmates arms were covered in his writing, too. He hoped they liked doodles.

\------

Kuroo’s mother breathed a sigh of relief when he joined the volleyball club in middle school. Though the club was Bokuto’s idea, Kuroo eagerly agreed to anything that allowed him to spend more time with his best friend (whom he’d never shared a class with since their fateful third year) and work out all his excess energy. It helped that both they, and their team, were good and that winning was fun. Soon doodles were joined by different plans and movements, and hand signals Kuroo could never seem to remember. His soulmate would ask about them sometimes, congratulate him when they won a game, but as far as Kuroo could tell he didn’t seem seem to play any sports himself. 

They talked, or rather, Kuroo wrote on his arm a lot and received an occasional reply, but he felt like he didn’t know enough. He knew they were a school year younger than him based on entrance exam schedules, and he knew they really liked video games. He knew they were extremely smart and perceptive, sometimes seeing things that Kuroo had completely overlooked. Kuroo knew that whenever a new game came out he could expect a few days of radio silence from them, only to then receive more words than he ever had once he prompted them to tell him what they thought. Those conversations were his favorite, because he loved to try and imagine their excited face as they described the game to him.

Kuroo knew he loved his soulmate. He knew that the warmth he felt every time he saw their words, the pride when they insulted him, the way he wanted to be with them and share their excitement over the newest tactical RPG, even though he didn’t like that style of game. And he knew, through their teasing and subtle encouragement, that they loved him too. It seemed silly enough to know at such a young age that he never bothered to tell anyone, not even Bokuto, but it didn’t matter. He knew and his soulmate knew and that was enough. 

During Kuroo’s first year of high school, a girl claimed to be his soulmate. He recognized her as Suki; she sat two rows over and one seat behind him in their class, though he barely knew anything about her. She approached him during lunch and showed him the same marks he’d had on his arm from his morning classes. Bokuto was more excited than he was, jumping around and shaking Kuroo’s shoulders while he yelled about how cool it was. Creeping doubt pulled at Kuroo in the back of his chest, though, and he simply grinned and offered to walk her home after practice. 

All during practice Kuroo’s new soulmate was all the first years could talk about thanks to Bokuto. Some were jealous, others shared stories about meeting their soulmates, while others wanted to know what she was like and what Kuroo felt when meeting her. Kuroo kept his nagging doubt to himself, he couldn’t quite place what was wrong and it didn’t seem like enough to voice aloud. She was cute and she seemed fine at lunch; a perfectly nice, good person who he would probably enjoy as a friend. But there was something else about her, the way she talked and carried herself, that just didn’t seem to match the voice he’d given to his soulmate. His soulmate had always seemed reserved in their conversations, only offering information once prompted for it, but she had approached him first, offering her evidence of their connection without any prompting from him at all. 

After practice Kuroo walked her home as promised, letting her words wash over him as they strolled down the sidewalk. He was vaguely aware that she was planning a date for this weekend and that he should contribute, but it only exacerbated the uneasy feeling in his chest. Was his mostly silent soulmate really this talkative? This forward? Did they (she?) really plan things this much? He’d looked at the marks on her arm under the guise of holding her hand and they certainly seemed real. His handwriting was neat, though, and Bokuto hadn’t written anything on him in a couple of days. Anyone with a good enough eye could copy what they could see. 

Kuroo felt sick as he considered the options. He couldn’t decide which was worse: someone lying about being his soulmate, or him not believing his own soulmate. On one hand her lying about being his soulmate was a deep betrayal, she was pretending to be someone Kuroo already held closest to him, and it felt twisted to take advantage of that kind of trust and love. On the other, if she really was his soulmate, it was just as twisted for him to think she might be lying just because she wasn’t exactly what he expected her to be. 

That night, after struggling with the unease since lunch, Kuroo finally gave in and formed a plan. He would ask something easy, something that he could play off just in case it were true and he was just being paranoid. That way he could put his mind at rest without feeling like a complete asshole. 

_hey what was the math hmwk?_

Honestly, Kuroo had already done his math homework. He always finished it during his free period because it was the easiest and he liked it. Plus, he wanted to have it done already in case Bokuto needed help. Still, the question was the perfect solution. It wasn’t a weird thing to ask, she was in his class so she would have to know, and it would prove to him that it really was (or wasn’t) her. He waited impatiently for his answer for two hours- only seeing the reply appear just before bed. 

_what_

Kuroo’s mouth ran dry, that wasn’t the answer he was expecting. He expected the page numbers or maybe even some chastising. The anxiety reached its cold hands up to squeeze his lungs as he responded, hoping the unsteadiness of his hands wasn’t noticeable.

_the math hw?_

Kuroo tried to ignore how sweaty his palms were, relieved that things like that weren’t transferred like writing. 

_i doubt we go to the same school. we had a test today, no homework_

Kuroo read, and then reread, the text on his arms. They weren’t having their test for another two weeks. There was no way Suki was his soulmate. He couldn’t help but feel somewhat relieved, she seemed nice but he hadn’t felt the connection with her that he’d always imagined. There was no sudden sense of comfort or familiarity; she was just nice. He’d heard of soulmates that didn’t work out before and always thought it seemed sad; he never thought he might be one of them. Now he would have to figure out a way to let her know what he knew privately, but something like that would be much easier than learning to love someone you didn’t really like. 

Kuroo was content to leave his real soulmate’s comment at the end to their conversation, as they never spoke for long, but as he slipped his night shirt over his head he noticed the addition of a word. 

_why?_

Kuroo scrambled for his pen on his desk. Just because he was fine with his soulmates silence doesn’t mean he wasn’t excited when they prompted conversation. 

_a girl pretended 2 b you in class 2day. smth felt off tho so i wanted to check._

_so you feigned being an idiot, by being an idiot?_

_you wound me ;(_

Kuroo spent longer looking at his soulmate’s last sentence than he would ever admit to anyone, including Bokuto. They seemed mean but he could tell, just by looking at them, that his soulmate was smiling. 

Kuroo confronted Suki on their walk to school in the morning. After he showed her the conversation on his arm she at least had the sense to be properly embarrassed. She admitted to seeing him during practice and had wanted to confess, but a classmate warned her that Kuroo had already connected with his soulmate. Since she hadn’t yet seen hers, she didn’t think there was any harm in pretending to be Kuroo’s for a little bit. 

Kuroo disagreed, but he let it slide. There was no sense in scolding her if she hadn’t realized on her own already. At practice Bokuto seemed more disappointed by the revelation than Kuroo, and one of the upperclassmen shared that it had happened to them too. Kuroo silently promised himself to take a long, hard, close look at any of his, and Bokuto’s, supposed soulmates; though his handwriting would be a lot more difficult to replicate. 

\--------

Kuroo’s first year of college was probably one of the most fun years of his life, so far. He and Bokuto had been accepted to an excellent university through volleyball, and even though they weren’t yet starters, the energy of being on a team that won national championships regularly was enough to keep their passion burning. He and Bokuto roomed together, against their mother’s wishes, and Kuroo maintained that it wasn’t as disastrous as everyone swore it would be, because they (obviously) never held any parties there. They went to _other people’s_ houses to party, thank you very much. 

It was at one of these parties that Kuroo first got the idea to get a tattoo. One of his team mates came in with a dragon blazed across his chest and Kuroo felt immediately jealous. He didn’t necessarily want a dragon on his chest, but he knew he wanted a tattoo. He wanted a tattoo more than he’d ever wanted anything in his life and no, that wasn’t just the alcohol talking, Bokuto. 

The next morning, even with his pounding headache, the feeling hadn’t left. He sat on the idea for a few weeks, tossing designs around in his head and sketching some of the more promising ones in his free time. Kuroo was careful to avoid putting any on his skin, he was trying to decide how he was going to ask his soulmate, or if he even wanted to do something like that to someone he technically hadn’t met yet. When he at least settled on a design he contacted Tsukishima, a guy he knew from his and Bokuto’s design class. They had done a few group projects together, and Kuroo knew he worked at the local tattoo shop just off campus. More importantly, he’d seen his work and he trusted him to do a good job. 

Tsukishima agreed to meet Kuroo and Bokuto at the cafe they always met at for projects, though Kuroo got the distinct feeling it was mostly to mock whatever idea he’d come up with. That feeling didn’t prevent Kuroo from confidently sliding his design across the table to Tsukishima the second he sat down, barely giving him enough time to set his cup on the table. Tsukishima picked the piece of paper up as Bokuto brought his and Kuroo’s drinks, leaning over Tsukishima’s arm to see the finalized design.

“It looks stupid. But it’s fitting for you, I guess.” Tsukishima studied the rough silhouette of a black cat, crudely drawn by Kuroo. Bokuto leaned back and tipped his chair against the table behind him, precarious legs begging Kuroo for a nudge. “I can work with it at least, though I can see one problem right away.” 

“What’s that?” Kuroo asked, eyes not leaving the back legs of Bokuto’s chair despite the fact that Tsukishima was the one talking to him. 

“Your soulmate.” Tsukishima’s eyes slid over to Bokuto, watching as the chair legs clacked to the floor when Bokuto nearly tipped the chair over himself, only saving it by over correcting back towards the table “You haven’t even met them.” 

“Yeah, well, I’ll ask. Duh.” Kuroo, disappointed from the lack of a fall, moved his eyes from Bokuto, skipped past Tsukishima’s critical gaze, and finally settled on the cafe menu, pretending as if he were still deciding on ordering something else.

“You didn’t even think about it.” Tsukishima said, as Bokuto began tilting his chair again, bored with their conversation. Kuroo took the opportunity to kick the legs, sending Bokuto to the floor with a snicker. Bokuto shrieked as he went down and Kuroo laughed harder, momentarily distracting them from the conversation at hand. Kuroo hoped that distraction would make room for a conversation change, and Tsukishima would drop the subject.

“Dude, why-” Bokuto wailed, looking at Kuroo with wide, betrayed eyes.

“...Anyway,” Tsukishima continued, raising his voice above Bokuto’s as he looked away from the pouting man on the cafe floor. Kuroo’s hopes for a conversation change dashed into pieces. “No respectable tattoo shop will give you that without consent from your soulmate. Including me.”

“I know, Tsukki. I’m not an ass.” Kuroo said, finally making eye contact with the frowning Tsukishima. 

“Don’t call me that.” Tsukishima slid the sketch back across the table, but Kuroo stopped him, leaning in. 

“No, listen. I know. I know I gotta ask them, that’s why I came to you. Draw it on me anyway, in marker. So they can see. They’re not gonna like it if I just ask and they don’t know what it is or where it’ll be.” Truthfully, Kuroo had actually thought a lot about the tattoo; far more than his carefree attitude let on. While he and his soulmate had never met, he still knew them. He could reasonably predict how they would feel about this, and what information they would want. He thought long and hard about how to ask for the tattoo before they’d ever met, and he decided that showing first and asking later would be best. It would keep them from declining outright, give them something to look at and consider, and ultimately allow them to refuse in the end if they still didn’t want it. 

It was the best he could do. 

Tsukishima paused, looking down at the sketch sandwiched between his and Kuroo’s fingers. It would need work before he’d be willing to claim it as one of his designs, but he understood what Kuroo was looking for. As much as he hated to admit it, Kuroo’s request wasn’t unreasonable or even unusual. Even with soulmate consent, plenty of people wanted to preview their tattoos before they were finalized. One last look to Kuroo’s pleading face made Tsukishima sigh and slide the sketch back towards himself. 

“Fine. But let me fix it first. I’d recommend against becoming an artist.” Tsukishima said while standing, he wanted to get away before Kuroo could gloat too much. He couldn’t stand the smug grin already curling onto the other’s face. 

“Thanks, Tsukki!” Kuroo called towards Tsukishima’s rapidly retreating back while leaning over for a high five from Bokuto. So far, his plan was working. 

It took another week for Kuroo to get the text from Tsukishima that his design was done. Kuroo had a sneaking suspicion that Tsukishima made him wait longer than necessary as revenge for his nickname, but as soon as Kuroo laid eyes on the final design any protest he had died in his throat. Tsukishima had taken his crude sketch and returned a sleek design, a solid black silhouette of a cat, with a cheshire grin carved from the void. Kuroo pulled his shirt over his head and got comfortable, eagerness to see what it would look like outweighing his nerves. 

When they were done Kuroo examined his front shoulder in the mirror, pleased with the way the black stood stark against his skin, drawing more attention to the cat’s grin contrasting against the black. It wasn’t until another customer came in that Tsukishima handed him the marker and left him alone with his reflection. Kuroo took a long look at the design and began writing on an empty spot on his arm. 

_HEY so that up there isnt a tattoo but i really want it 2 b but only if u like it 2? (pls say yes) ok thanks dont wrry if u dnt like it itll wash off_

Now all he had to do was wait for the yea or nay from his soulmate. Kuroo did everything he could think of to try and distract himself from checking his arm every five minutes; he: went to the library to study, gave up, horsed around on the lawn with Bokuto, went to dinner with Bokuto, played video games with Bokuto, had supplemental practice with Bokuto, showered (Bokuto was there, though they showered separately), but it barely worked. He was anxious to know their answer, nervous that they might hate it, that he might have put them in an uncomfortable situation. It wasn’t until he was pulling his pajamas on to go to bed that he saw the small-scripted response. 

_that’s fine._

Kuroo shouted so loudly Bokuto bolted from bed, afraid something had happened. They spent several minutes jumping around the dorm room together in celebration, stopping only when their next door neighbor banged on the wall. Kuroo texted 6 pictures of the answer to Tsukishima as proof, and he’d never grinned wider when he read Tsukishima’s simple response of a date and time.

Getting a tattoo hurt less than Kuroo assumed. He’d heard so many horror stories and warnings that he thought it would be the worst experience he’d ever had in his entire life. It wasn’t comfortable, but as Tsukishima explained during a break, the arm has enough muscle that the pain isn’t as bad as somewhere more bony. It did take longer than Kuroo expected, he didn’t think tattoos would take several hours to complete, but as he looked at the final product in the mirror he couldn’t help but feel every second had been worth it. 

That night, when he peeled back the gauze to wash it and apply the ointment, he noticed writing that had definitely not been there before. Kuroo leaned forward to read the writing in the mirror, eager to hear his soulmate’s thoughts and worried that they had maybe changed their mind. He would have never guessed before today how three tiny words could make him grin bigger than any volleyball win ever had. 

_it looks nice._

\-------

Despite his reputation for partying, Kuroo was also an extremely diligent student. He spent just as many hours in the library as he did drinking, and even more hours practicing with the team and Bokuto. He always went to his classes and more than once had to drag Bokuto along with him. Bokuto’s dream was going pro, but Kuroo wanted to do sports medicine. He knew Bokuto’s penchant for working too hard for too long and he wanted to be there for his friend. He didn’t think he was good enough to stand with Bokuto as a teammate, but he could be there on the sidelines ready to respond when Bokuto needed him most. 

He’d never told Bokuto any of that, but his soulmate knew. They had encouraged him to look into management when he first expressed doubts about his future. Kuroo loved volleyball, almost as much as he loved his soulmate, and he was lost when he thought about suddenly not playing it anymore. He’d actually never even considered moving into the role of manager on a team but it made sense the more he spoke to his soulmate. He knew the game, inside and out, and he was good at math and science. He found medicine interesting. It was so perfect he wished he could kiss them for pointing it out.

He found himself wishing that a lot.

When Bokuto found Akaashi it definitely didn’t make him jealous. He had never really felt jealous of found soulmates before. He’d known his existed longer than most, which he thought took the edge off wanting to meet them. They always responded when Kuroo really needed it, and he theorized he’d probably had more whole conversations with them than some who decided to meet right away. He knew enough about his soulmate to feel like he knew their personality, and he knew that they liked him enough to be indulgent in some of his wilder ideas. That, or they were entirely apathetic to the idea of tattoos. This had always been enough. They’d meet some day and it wasn’t a big deal. 

From the first day they “met” Bokuto would ramble endlessly about his soulmate: how pretty their handwriting was, how funny their jokes were, how smart and clever they were. Kuroo was convinced it couldn’t get much worse, making the fatal error of not taking into account the presence of a soulmate who actually encouraged Bokuto’s personality, flaws and all, even going so far as to find the flaws endearing. 

Technically he met Akaashi when Bokuto broke his nose with a frisbee, but he didn’t formally meet him until the next day, with a bandage firmly on Akaashi’s nose and Bokuto bouncing on his heels. Kuroo liked Akaashi, he had a dry sense of humor and seemed to balance Bokuto well. He even seemed content to join them when they hung out; the real issue definitely wasn’t Akaashi. 

It was his roommate. 

Kuroo met him for the first time on his way to class with Bokuto. Bokuto saw Akaashi and, like an ill-trained puppy, dragged Kuroo over so he could say hi. Kuroo thought he and the roommate bonded a little over each being the awkward third wheel in this brief meeting, though they didn’t say much to each other aside from a few quips about the happy couple. Still, Kuroo couldn’t help but think the roommate was cute, bundled in an over-sized sweater, and awkwardly looking off to the side as if the gross scene before them wasn’t happening. 

That night Kuroo felt guilty. He had intentionally never dated anyone else, despite plenty of opportunity to, because he loved his soulmate. He loved them a lot, and he didn’t see a point in dating anyone else when he knew he would never fully commit to them. At the same time, he’d never been drawn to anyone the way he was drawn to Akaashi’s roommate. He was quiet, but when he did speak it was clever, and he was cute. Too cute to be legal. Cute enough that Kuroo wanted to wrap him in a hug and give his face kisses until his nose wrinkled like it does when Bokuto and Akaashi flirt. 

And those thoughts made him feel like shit. He shouldn’t have feelings for someone else, it was like cheating. Even if they’d never expressly talked about dating other people before they met he’d always felt that they were on the same page. They’d been together for so long that it felt wrong to even think about anyone else in that way, and yet here he was. That night Kuroo thought a little harder than usual before putting his marker to his arm. 

_how do u think well kno each other when we meet_

He was prepared to wait for morning, but the response came near immediately, faster than an unprompted response had before.

_by all your terrible doodles._

Kuroo huffed, but smiled. What a rude, cute answer. His doodles were masterpieces and they knew it. 

_what if we cant see each other’s arms_

Kuroo watched his arm, thinking about how he almost always wore short sleeves. They would probably be able to know it was him, but how would he know it was them in return? 

_isnt that the fun of meeting by chance_

Kuroo pursed his lips and thought about Bokuto and Akaashi. He and Bokuto had been friends since childhood, he knew if Bokuto had a choice he and his soulmate would have known each other’s names and locations by day two. But Bokuto’s soulmate wanted to wait, and now Kuroo would be lying if he said he wasn’t jealous of their “getting together” story. He was a sucker for a good romcom.

_yea tru. cant wait 4 our chance ;))_

\-------

The next time they met Kuroo found out the roommate’s name, Kenma, and that he was good at video games. Really, really good. He and Bokuto were going to have their usual Friday Mario Kart showdown, and Bokuto insisted that they involve Akaashi (so Akaashi could see him win and know how impressive he is). Kuroo insisted that they do it at Akaashi’s room then, because neither of them were going to clean their room, and Kuroo had enough shame for them both that he wasn’t going to let someone else see how they lived. 

Their deal only worked out because Akaashi’s roommate owned a gamecube, and offered to let them use it. Kuroo felt a little guilty about kicking the poor guy out of his own space, he looked comfortable nestled in blankets on the couch, and it wasn’t his fault he and Bokuto lived like slobs. Kuroo stopped Kenma with a gamecube remote before he removed himself from the couch, trying to ease the man’s uncertain gaze with a lopsided grin. 

“Stay and play with us? It’s a four person game, and at some point Bo’s gonna wanna be on a team with Akaashi.” Kuroo took a seat next to the blanket pile on the couch, careful to keep a comfortable distance. “I’m Kuroo, by the way. Kuroo Tetsurou, Bokuto’s best friend.” 

“...Sure.” Kenma took the controller and studied the buttons, carefully avoiding eye contact with Kuroo. “Kenma.”

“Kenma? That’s a cute name.” Kuroo said, regret and dread immediately filling him. He hadn’t meant to, he wasn’t trying to flirt, and now he was. An awkward silence fell between him and Kenma as he tried to think of a way to cover up his gaffe. Thankfully, Bokuto started a game and Kuroo was able to push the slip out of his mind as he was easily pulled into competitive banter with Bokuto, making the game seem far more intense than it was. Kenma beat them all handily, easily several seconds ahead of the rest of them and only then did Kuroo turn back to congratulate him. 

“Hey! You’re really good at this.” Kuroo grinned, hoping his comment from earlier had been forgiven. Instead he saw Kenma studying his arms, still full of doodles and notes from the day. Kuroo thought about his soulmate and felt guilty all over again. 

“They don’t mind?” Kenma’s voice cut through Kuroo’s self pity like a hot knife, immediately snapping him back to the present. 

“My soulmate? Nah, or...they like to pretend to be annoyed, but I don’t think they are.” Kuroo smiled fondly as he remembered the times they’d teased him for having poor drawing skills, none of the dry, sarcastic comments had ever seemed truly annoyed. 

“Do you like them?” Kenma asked, eyes not leaving Kuroo’s arms. 

“I love them.” Kuroo let that hang between them as Bokuto started up another game. 

By the end of the night, Kenma had won every single game by several seconds, no matter the course. Kuroo and Bokuto had traded times they came in second and Akaashi always managed to finish sixth. Kuroo could tell this frustrated him, but he was impressed with Akaashi’s ability to disguise how bothered he was. Before he left he congratulated Kenma again, scolding himself for briefly wondering if Kenma’s subtle, concentrated face when they played was the same one his soulmate wore during their games. 

That night before bed, Kuroo waged an internal battle with himself. He’d stayed up later than Bokuto, beating himself up over his slip to Kenma and the thoughts that followed. He knew he couldn’t help that he was attracted to Kenma, but he also knew it was unfair to his soulmate (and Kenma) to even think about pursuing anyone else. He’d been in his rumination for so long that he was to the point where all he wanted was a hot shower and some sleep, and maybe in the morning he’d be able to talk it out with his soulmate. They at least deserved to know. 

Kuroo pulled himself out of bed and stripped along the way to the shower, not stopping until he was fully submerged in the steaming hot water. The heat soothed his muscles and made it easier to breathe; he could talk to his soulmate tomorrow and everything would be fine, it wasn’t like he had actually done anything. When he left the shower and reached for his towel, a long string of text on his forearm caught his eye in the mirror. As far as he knew he hadn’t had anyone else write anything on his arm, and since that was his writing hand he rarely wrote anything himself. Dread rushing back to him he twisted his arm to read the words his soulmate had sent him.

_after all those times you bragged about beating your friend at mario kart, i assumed you would be better at it._

Kuroo read the sentence, and then read it again. That was definitely his soulmate, but it was also…

_Kenma??_

_yes_

Kuroo paced the bathroom floor while anxiously tugging at his hair. Kenma was his soulmate. He wasn’t going to have to have a talk about Kenma with his soulmate tomorrow because his soulmate _was_ Kenma. Which also meant that he had expressed his absolute love for his soulmate- for _Kenma_ \- in front of Kenma. To his face. The adrenaline, excitement, and anxiety all clashed in his chest, each demanding his attention and action first. He tried to sort through them all, try to find the most pressing one to address and each time he only came up with one answer. 

_can i come back? I forgot to give you smth_

_Keiji is sleeping._

_ill b quiet dont worry_

The pause between responses was killing Kuroo, he felt as if Kenma were waiting a little longer each time on purpose. 

_Sure._

Kuroo moved so quickly after getting Kenma’s approval he barely had time to pay attention to the sweatpants he threw on. He flew down the stairs to Akaashi and Kenma’s dorm room, trying to catch his breath while waiting for the door to click open. Kenma slowly stepped into the hall, avoiding looking directly at Kuroo as he quietly shut the door behind him. Now that he was here it dawned on Kuroo that the slow responses were because Kenma was just as, if not more so, nervous than he was. Kuroo grinned as he thought about how cute that was, how cute Kenma was. 

“I didn’t see anything of yours on the couch.” Kenma mumbled, trying to stay quiet in the hallway.

“A kiss.” Kuroo tried to catch Kenma’s eye, but it proved difficult. 

“What?” Kenma quickly glanced up, but then immediately looked down as he met Kuroo’s eyes. A blush threatened to give away the fact that Kenma had heard Kuroo’s request perfectly, and he pressed his lips into a tight line. 

“I forgot to give you a kiss.” Kuroo’s grin widened as he watched the blush dust Kenma’s cheeks. He had been craving the ability to do this for so long, and now the sight before him was even more beautiful than he could have ever imagined. Kuroo leaned down to press a kiss to the corner of Kenma’s lips, lingering there for just a moment before pulling up. 

“You missed.” Kenma finally turned to meet Kuroo’s eyes, frowning at his poor aim. Kuroo threw his head back in a laugh louder than their location should permit. Kenma’s quips were even cuter in person and Kuroo didn’t know how he’d spent his whole life up to this point not hearing them said aloud. 

“Breakfast tomorrow? You can sleep in.” Kuroo nervously ran his fingers through his wet hair; it was such a relief to have finally met his soulmate, to have it be Kenma, that he didn’t have to wonder or feel guilty. He wanted to kiss him again, better this time, but now wasn’t the right moment. Right now the right thing to do was watch Kenma’s face closely enough to catch the flash of a smile before he turned to open the door. 

“...Be here at ten.” Kenma slipped inside the door and it was all Kuroo could do to keep himself from waking the entire hallway. 

Boktuo was wrong, _his_ soulmate was definitely the cutest.

**Author's Note:**

> i finally finished this.....it took me so long it's such a relief to get done!! now i can write for bokuaka week lmao..
> 
> come yell at me on my [tumblr](http://strawberryriver.tumblr.com) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/keiji_ebooks)!!
> 
> if you request a pairing/prompt in my ask box i'll probably write it


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